Semyon Varlamov in his shutout of Nashville. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov had his fourth shutout of the season Friday night against Nashville, and afterwards — before the media met with Colorado coach Patrick Roy — I politely prefaced my question to Varlamov with the concession that no NHL shutout is easy. Then I asked if this was one of his easier shutouts.

Varlamov laughed before answering.

“To get a shutout in this league is not easy, I can tell you that,” he said. “It’s always tough. But today I think we played solid 60 minutes and the boys played unbelievable in front of me. I saw lots of shots from the blue line, which is important for me — to see the shots. I hate when I don’t see the shots. But the guys did a great job. And I think we had a good start, too. It’s very important to score the first goal in this league so that you get that confidence and you play with confidence for the rest of the game.” Read more…

Reto Berra was in the Avalanche net against Boston Oct. 13. (Elise Amendola, The Associated Press)

The Avalanche goaltenders at Monday’s practice were Semyon Varlamov and Reto Berra, who had returned to the Avalanche following his five-game conditioning stint with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters.

And as of Monday night, Calvin Pickard still was on the Monsters’ roster after being sent down on Saturday. The AHL All-Star Game was Monday night in Utica, N.Y., and the league resumes play Thursday. The Avalanche has a light schedule over the next week, facing Nashville Tuesday and Friday, then not playing again until Feb. 3 at Dallas. The next “conventional” start for a backup goalie — whether it’s Pickard or Berra — probably would be in one of the road games on back-to-back nights, at Minnesota Feb. 7 and at Winnipeg Feb. 8.

After practice, I spoke with Berra, the 28-year-old Swiss who was 3-1-1 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage for the Monsters. With Colorado, he is 2-2-1, with a 3.57 goals-against and a .882 save percentage, and he hasn’t played for the Avalanche since Dec. 5. Read more…

When: The Avalanche’s next two games are against Forsberg and the Predators, beginning Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn.

What’s up: Forsberg, 20, will be the only rookie playing Sunday in the NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio. He leads the Predators, and all NHL rookies, with 40 points. He’s also first among rookies with a plus-24 rating, which is third-best in the league.

Background: From Ostervala, Sweden, Forsberg was selected No. 11 by the Washington Capitals in the 2012 draft, with the pick the Caps acquired from the Avalanche in the Semyon Varlamov trade. In a 2013 trade-deadline move that general manager George McPhee felt would bolster Washington’s playoff run, the Caps sent Forsberg to Nashville for Martin Erat and minor-leaguer Michael Latta. In hindsight, the trade might have cost McPhee his job, and the Predators ridded themselves of a 31-year-old veteran making $4.5 million for one of the world’s top young prospects.

Chambers’ take: Forsberg is not related to Peter Forsberg, the Hall of Famer and former Avalanche star, but they are similar in that both were traded by the NHL team that drafted them, and that team will never hear the end of it. The Flyers traded Peter to the Quebec Nordiques in the Eric Lindros deal. Filip was traded for a guy who is 33 and playing out what likely will be the final year of his last NHL contract.

At the outset of Wednesday night’s Colorado-Boston game, Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard again will be watching Semyon Varlamov in the Colorado net. It will be Varlamov’s 12th start in the last 13 games, and he’s playing well again, so coach Patrick Roy’s decision isn’t eyebrow-raising at all.

Pickard, recalled for the fourth time this season on Jan. 12, hasn’t played since he had 44 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss at Carolina on Jan. 13. For the season, he is 6-6-3, with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. In the official league stats, he still is listed at No. 1 in save percentage, but his 15 games are right at the minimum to qualify, so continued inactivity will knock him out of that spot.

“It’s a nice honor, but I haven’t played nearly as much as the other guys around on that list,” Pickard said after the morning skate. “It’s a tough number to maintain and I’m lucky to maintain a good number so far for this season. I’d like to get back in there and maintain that same percentage.”

CHICAGO — The evolving game story is here. A re-write should post soon at that link, with information and quotes from the locker room.

Nathan MacKinnon had a multiple-point game with his seventh goal of the season and 17th assist. He heated up en route to his Calder Trophy-winning season last January:

Quotes from Chicago PR:
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville: “We talked about it the last couple of days, giving up the first goal, getting off to poor starts. Today, you couldn’t even call it a poor start. You’re down, you don’t even know you’re in the game and you’re down 2-0 … The third period, we put everything at the net, including bodies, which we didn’t do a good job of the first 40 minutes. But he made a couple of big saves in the third period with traffic.”

Chicago F Patrick Sharp: “It’s frustrating. I think we can do a better job of getting to the net. I think the most frustrating part is the way we started the game again. Being down 2-0 quick like that changes the whole way the game is going to be played from there on out. We did generate a lot of shots on net. The second and third opportunities are where we needed to capitalize.”

Noteworthy: Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson (two shots off iron) played a game-high 26:36, more than Chicago ice-time leader Duncan Keith (26:29). Avs center Matt Duchene (15:02) and defenseman Tyson Barrie (14:15) didn’t play as much as usual. … John Mitchell (two assists, plus-2) was a solid No. 2 star, right there with MacKinnon (goal, assist). … The Blackhawks’ shot total was their season high, one shy of the NHL single-game high this season, and they are the only NHL team to produce 50 shots in multiple games. Every Chicago player produced a shot, and Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith combined for 22.

Here’s my Monday post-practice “quick” online story, taking a look at the Avalanche goaltending plans for the near future. In other words, it’s Varlamov every night for the short term, until next week’s long road trip, but then what?

Semyon Varlamov is back in the Colorado net tonight for his fourth straight start. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Well, much to my chagrin, the NHL hasn’t banned morning skates since my previous stint covering the Avalanche and the league, so I was at the Pepsi Center Sunday morning as Colorado looked ahead to its 6 p.m. game against Columbus.

Patrick Roy said he would use the same lineup as he had against Edmonton Friday, meaning Zach Redmond would be the healthy scratch. He added he would tinker, putting rookie winger Borna Rendulic with Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog.

“I liked his speed and size,” Roy said of Rendulic, who got his first career goal against the Flyers on New Year’s Eve.

Pickard was playing so well for the Avs — their 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday wasn’t really on him — that Roy was able to show some patience. He gave No. 1 goalie Semyon Varlamov more time to heal a groin injury.

And even though Pickard jumped from the minor-league development stage to a solid replacement role as the Avs’ part-time No. 1, it doesn’t mean he was meant for the NHL in the immediate. His drop back to Lake Erie was less a demotion and more a correction — he’s back where he was planned to be. Pickard’s time will come with the Avs (maybe still this season).

Fourth-liner Patrick Bordeleau will miss his 33rd game after playing his first of the season Saturday at Buffalo. Bordeleau was on the ice as that game ended but apparently suffered a fractured kneecap at some point during the game. He’ll miss 8-10 weeks, coach Patrick Roy said.

Behind the scenes video of Joe Louis Arena and Patrick Roy interview by former Denver TV talent John Keating:

DETROIT — Avalanche coach Patrick Roy did a pregame presser and told me goalie Semyon Varlamov — who skated and took shots Sunday at Joe Louis Arena — will likely start Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues at the Pepsi Center. Roy said he’s “95 percent” sure that will be the case, but the team will decide Monday. Rookie sensation Calvin Pickard, meanwhile, will not go from Detroit to Cleveland after the game, Roy said, and will remain with the team for the immediate future, instead of rejoining Lake Erie of the American Hockey League.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Valuable Avalanche forward John Mitchell, who has missed seven consecutive games and 10 of the last 11 with a hip-flexor injury, will return Saturday night against the Sabres. And fourth-line forward Patrick Bordeleau, who has yet to play this season after undergoing back surgery, will also be in the lineup against one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Buffalo has won 10 of its last 14 games.

Max Talbot will skate on the Matt Duchene-centered line with Nathan MacKinnon:

The additions of Mitchell and Bordeleau give coach Patrick Roy better options in “pairing” lines. Roy likes to put two guys together, and add the complimentary third guy. Thus, he’s going with speedsters Matt Duchene (center) with Nathan MacKinnon (right wing) and adding plugger Max Talbot (left wing) to the equation. Roy wants Ryan O’Reilly (center) and Gabe Landeskog (left wing) together, and putting Daniel Briere in that mix. Mitchell will skate between the Alex Tanguay-Jarome Iginla duo. Marc-Andre Cliche will center the fourth line with heavy grinders Cody McLeod and Bordeleau. Dennis Everberg will be scratched, along with defenseman Nick Holden. Goalie Semyon Varlamov and forward Jesse Winchester are on the trip and practicing with the team.

More on Varlamov and current starting goalie Calvin Pickard — who is exempt from the holiday roster freeze that kicked in Friday night — at www.denverpost.com/avalanche within an hour or so.

Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov is practicing during his second recovery from the same groin injury:

Notable: When asked to update the status of forward Jamie McGinn, who recently had back surgery, Roy said he would be “very surprised” if he plays again this season. … Winchester, who is still recovering from a preseason concussion that has messed up everything he does, was briefly using eyeglasses in the morning skate. The poor guy is trying everything, it seems, but this is the first time I’ve seen him on a road trip. I hear some folks who have concussions have headaches and other ailments because their vision changes. Didn’t have a chance to talk to Winchester because, as a scratch, he remained on the ice with the other guys who won’t play tonight as the other players were catching the bus back to the hotel. … Former Avs forwards Chris Stewart and Cody McCormick are with Buffalo, but McCormick is injured. Stewart is a team-worst minus-15 and playing on the fourth line lately.

PITTSBURGH — The game story is all about Calvin Pickard, the 22-year-old Avalanche rookie goalie who undoubtedly deserves to continue to play in the NHL. In the latest edition of his standing-on-head performances, Pickard had a 47-save shutout brewing in overtime before Blake Comeau capitalized on a rebound to win it for the Penguins, 1-0 at the Consol Energy Center.

Please click to the gamer for Patrick Roy’s off-camera thoughts about what the Avs will probably do when Semyon Varlamov is cleared to play. Varly is scheduled to practice with the team Friday in Buffalo and, according to Roy, will replace Pickard when he’s deemed ready. And it doesn’t appear the third goalie on the food chain, Reto Berra, will take his $1.45 million salary to the minors. All signs point toward Pickard ($810,000 NHL salary, $67,500 AHL) going back to Lake Erie of the American Hockey League.

Roy said Pickard’s play is a “wakeup call for Berra. He needs to see what’s going on right now and compete better in practice.”Read more…

Colorado Avalanche’s Daniel Briere, right, uses his glove to knock in the puck over Calgary Flames’ goalie Karri Ramo, left, from Finland, as Calgary’s Brandon Bollig looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta. The goal was not allowed. (Larry MacDougal, The Canadian Press)

CALGARY, Alberta — The Flames and Avalanche meet Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in game between two teams going in opposite directions. Calgary is 16-8-2, much better than the 9-13-2 it was at this point last season. Colorado is 9-11-5, much worse than its 19-6 start a year ago.

The Avs are on a two-game trip, concluding a back-to-back on Friday at Winnipeg. We’ll have much more from the morning skate at the Saddledome, but for now, here’s what you might want to know:

Semyon Varlamov looks down after allowing a sixth goal to the New York Islanders at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 11, 2014 in Uniondale, N.Y. (Bruce Bennett, Getty Images)

The Avalanche had an optional skate Sunday, with Semyon Varlamov taking shots from injured forwards Jesse Winchester (head), Dennis Everberg (shoulder) and Ben Street (hand) and healthy Tomas Vincour. Varlamov will remain on the IR until Tuesday or Wednesday and is the tentative scheduled starter Thursday at Calgary. Rookie Calvin Pickard will make his third consecutive start Monday against the visiting Montreal Canadiens. So, no goaltending moves for now.

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy talks about goalie Semyon Varlamov, pokes fun at colleague Terry Frei and the injury to Marc-Andre Cliche. Frei will have a column on the Avs on Monday.

Calvin Pickard makes a save on a shot from the Arizona Coyotes during the third period. (Christian Petersen, Getty Images)

So, we have a genuine goalie controversy on our hands, except it’s for the backup job, not the starter. Coach Patrick Roy says he will sit down with Avs GM Joe Sakic (still weird for me to write both those titles for these guys) on Sunday and debate what for Avs fans is their version of The Choice: Calvin Pickard or Reto Berra.

Roy said the other day the Avs will not carry three goaltenders (I think they learned last year that was a bit awkward and counter-productive for everyone involved) when Semyon Varlamov comes back off the injured list -which should be Monday night against Les Canadiens De Montreal.Read more…

The big news Friday was Patrick Roy saying he will not send rookie goalie Calvin Pickard back to the minors, nor will he keep three netminders. So when Semyon Varlamov returns from a groin injury — he practiced fully again Friday and says he’s fine — Reto Berra could be reassigned (waived) or traded. More about that here and in Saturday’s paper and online. And keep in mind: Roy could change his mind, or have his mind changed based on finances. Berra will make his $1.4 million ($1.45 million cap hit) wherever he plays, whereas Pickard makes substantially less in Lake Erie and is waiver-exempt.

About that headline: Erik Johnson didn’t have a concussion-type head injury. It was his neck that messed him up in Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime win at Arizona. EJ, who appeared to be knocked out, dangerously absorbed a hit by the Coyotes’ Martin Hanzal in OT while trying to shoot, and his follow-through resulted in Hanzal’s shoulder colliding with his head.

Alex Tanguay is likely to play against Chicago tonight. That’s the word from the team. He was a scratch last night with that facial fracture, despite flying to Arizona with the team.

The Avs say Erik Johnson will be a game-time decision for the game with Chicago. In case he can’t go, Karl Stollery has been recalled from Lake Erie and will play if No. 6 can’t.
Only four players were on the ice this morning at the Pepsi Center – Patrick Bordeleau, Jesse Winchester, John Mitchell and Semyon Varlamov.

The fact that Varly is back on skates is obviously a good thing. He took a lot of shots fro the three players, and looked good and mobile to me. Lots of side-to-side movement, lots of pushing off with the skates. He has been placed on injured reserve for the time being, however, partially to make room for Stollery. But if things progress the way they seem to going with Varlamov, it shouldn’t be too long before he’s back. At least, one wouldn’t assume. But wait, what happens when you assume things again?

The fact that Calvin Pickard is starting tonight is a nice reward for him from Patrick Roy. And, also, finally an admission from Roy that, no, Reto Berra isn’t playing too well right now. Roy laughed at questions Monday morning questioning Berra’s play. He’s not doing that anymore for the time being.

Mitchell skated for a while today, and then seemed to aggravate something at the end. He was hunched over in seeming pain, and left the ice right after that. No word on his condition moving forward, other than he’s still listed as day-to-day (aren’t we all).

I talked with Winchester the other day, and while he said he’s doing OK overall, he is still having problems related to the concussion suffered before the season. There are still some vision issues and things like that. It’s tough, and he’s frustrated by it. Just have to hope the symptoms lift.

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson dives for the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Denver. (Jack Dempsey, Associated Press)”

Not since they were called the Hartford Whalers have the Carolina Hurricanes won a game in Denver (0-9-2). That win, a 3-2 Whale triumph at the old McNichols Sports Arena, came on Feb. 9, 1996. I recently actually went back and watched the entire VHS tape of that game and documented it all in one of my “Watching Old Avs Games” pieces on the blog. Give it a read for what life was like back in 1996.

Anyway, I thought the Hurricanes would break the hex tonight. The precise moment I really thought that was in the second period of a 3-1 game and Alex Semin had just a tap-in to make to make it a 4-1 game. Even Semin, one of the biggest underachievers in the NHL right now, would make that one and nobody ever comes back from a three-goal deficit anymore. Game over, I thought. But Calvin Pickard did kind of a reverse, backhanded glove save and also with his stick to keep it still a two-goal game. Read more…

Defenseman Ryan Wilson has probably played his last game with the Avalanche. Maybe he has a shot to return in the playoffs, but Colorado coach Patrick Roy said the 27-year-old Wilson will have season-ending shoulder surgery Wednesday. Wilson is in the final year of a three-year, $6.75 million contract, with a $2.25 million cap hit, and given his injury history — he has played 12, 28 and three games the last two seasons and this season — the Avs will likely used that money elsewhere.

Semyon Varlamov in net, and no changes to the defense from the last game.

Will it be a 2-2 road trip, or a 1-3 road trip? (Or, 1-2-1 if you want to get all technical).

The Avs are getting a Devils team that played the night before – though it’s not much to travel from Washington to Newark, so the Devils shouldn’t be too tired. New Jersey has won two in a row and is over .500 on the season, so things are looking up for Pete DeBoer’s team.

It should be a good crowd, a Saturday night game. Then again, Colorado isn’t a top draw out East as much as the old days, and the Devils have not been among the top 20 in home attendance since 2001-02. They’re currently 26th in the league, at 14,500 game. The Prudential Center is actually a really nice building, though, and the urban renewal of Newark is improving.

Assuming Cory Schneider starts, it will be his 18th straight start for the Devils in goal, one short of Martin Brodeur’s record. The Avs eked out a 2-1 overtime win last year here, and I expect another tough game. The Avs have historically never played too well in Jersey, but a win would really make that long flight home seem a lot more enjoyable.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.